“We kind of came to some agreement but the price of hotels and what we would be paying to host a tournament that is really friendly matches wouldn’t give you the value of what you would be paying.”

Tournament Director and Under-20 Team Manager Antwan Seymour says the tournament fell short of their fundraising goals. Seymour adds key stakeholders such as government and the football association itself do not value in-game international experience.

“When you look at it and you compare Cayman to the rest of the world, talent wise we have the same talent. We put our shoes and socks on the same way. The difference between Cayman and other countries is their preparation.”

But is anyone prepared to fund an Under-20 boys football tournament in Cayman? Seymour says the answer is no.

“The association is struggling right now to give us a sense, and government hasn’t gotten back to us. We are pretty much just going off ticket sales right now and sponsors and we are still short.”

Whittaker says CIFA intends to support the development of the Under-20 boys, but with the association’s current finances in limbo, any support they could offer would have wait.

“Because of situations in the past, the banks we were working with decided to close our accounts.”

About the author

Jordan Armenise

Jordan Armenise began his sports broadcasting journey with the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League (CFL). It was in this role where he was able to craft the immersive and enthusiastic approach to reporting, broadcasting and production you see here today in Cayman's sports community.

Jordan has also worked behind the scenes for a number of Canadian broadcasting & production companies such as CBC Sports, Cineflix Productions and Cream Productions.

Did he mention he was St. Clare of Assisi's 1994 Athlete of the Year?

Now dubbed 'The Sports Guy', Jordan relishes the role as Cayman 27 Sports Producer, where he can tell the stories of Cayman’s athletes. You can reach Jordan at 333.6521 or jordanarmenise@hurleysmedia.ky.

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